If an Oura Ring is good enough for Jennifer Aniston, it’s good enough for me. Gwyneth Paltrow wears one too, while Prince Harry and Meghan have also been spotted wearing them. After trialling one for the past two months, I can understand the appeal and to say I’m obsessed would be an understatement.

I’ve used plenty of fitness trackers, but the thing I love most about this one isn’t how it counts my steps. It’s that it doesn’t make me feel guilty when I need a slower day.

In fact, it encourages one.

If I haven’t slept well or my body isn’t operating at full capacity, the advice reflects that. There’s something very appealing about a fitness tracker that recognises looking after yourself sometimes means taking it easier.

A ring I enjoy wearing

The Oura looks and feels like a piece of jewellery, which is a big part of its appeal for me. There’s no screen on my wrist and no incoming call demanding my attention halfway through something else.

I can get on with my day while it records information, then open the app on my phone when I want to look at it. I don’t feel constantly attached to a piece of technology.

For anyone who likes the idea of tracking their health but doesn’t want to wear a smartwatch, that difference is worth considering. You do still need a compatible smartphone and the Oura app to see your information.

I’ve been getting about a week between charges, which makes it easy to keep wearing. I also love being able to leave it on in the shower and in the water. Oura says its rings are water-resistant to 100 metres and suitable for swimming, although they aren’t intended for scuba diving.

Permission to take it easier

The feature that has won me over is Readiness, which uses information including your recent sleep and resting heart rate to help indicate how well recovered you are.
It offers some context for deciding whether to be more active or give yourself a lighter day. That doesn’t mean a number on an app should dictate how you feel, but I like that recovery gets attention alongside activity.

There can be so much pressure attached to fitness trackers. An unfinished goal can feel like another thing you haven’t managed to do, even when you’ve had a perfectly reasonable excuse.

My experience with Oura has felt more forgiving. I still like seeing my steps, but I’m just as interested in what it tells me about my stress and whether I might need to ease off.

What’s useful after 60?

You don’t need to be training for an event to want a better understanding of your body.

For readers over 60, the appeal may be in seeing patterns over time. Oura tracks sleep duration and timing, with estimates of sleep stages. It can help you see whether a disrupted night was a one-off or whether your sleep has been changing over several weeks.

It also tracks resting heart rate and heart rate variability, which measures variation in the time between heartbeats. These readings contribute to its recovery insights, with the emphasis on your own baseline.

The daytime stress feature is another part I’m interested in. It estimates physiological stress from bodily signals; it can’t tell you exactly what caused a change or how you feel emotionally.

Keeping track of blood pressure

Oura’s Health Radar adds another feature that may interest readers keeping an eye on their blood pressure. Its Blood Pressure Signals feature looks at overnight sensor data across 30-day periods for cardiovascular patterns that may warrant a conversation with a healthcare professional. Oura says Health Radar began rolling out in Australia in October 2026 for members with a Gen3 ring or newer.

The distinction is that the ring doesn’t give you a blood pressure reading like an arm cuff does. Its Cuff Inputs feature lets you manually enter readings taken with a separate blood pressure monitor into the Oura app.

If you already check your blood pressure at home, being able to keep those readings alongside your other health trends could be useful when discussing changes with your GP. You still need your usual monitor to take the measurements.

More than a step counter

There are other features that may appeal as we get older. Cardiovascular Age estimates how your large arteries are ageing compared with your actual age, while nighttime breathing insights highlight patterns you may want to discuss with your GP.

For women navigating perimenopause or ongoing menopause symptoms, Oura’s Menopause Insights includes a questionnaire about how symptoms affect daily life. You can track changes over time and download a report to take to an appointment, which could help when trying to explain how you’ve been feeling between visits. This information comes from your answers—the ring doesn’t measure hormone levels or diagnose menopause.

Symptom Radar also looks for changes in your usual readings that may suggest your body is under strain. If you need a break, Rest Mode pauses activity goals so you can focus on recovering without worrying about your step count.

There’s plenty to explore, but none of it replaces a trip to the GP. If something doesn’t feel right, a good score on your app shouldn’t stop you getting it checked.

The cost to factor in

The ring is an upfront purchase, with pricing varying by model and finish. There’s also an ongoing membership to budget for if you want the detailed insights.

In Australia, Oura membership currently costs $9.99 a month or $109.99 a year, with a complimentary first month for new members. That makes the subscription part of the decision, especially if you’re comparing it with a tracker, you already own.

It suits the way I want to use technology: I can check the information when I’m interested, then carry on without a screen lighting up on my arm.

I’m hoping to be wearing it for years to come, especially if it helps me get better at knowing when to slow down.